Threads 17 of 52
by Echowarrior
Summary: The Autobots begin their efforts towards constructing their new base and retrieving the MiniCons as signs begin to show another hand in their affairs.


Threads

A Transformers: Armada Story

By William Rendfeld

Earth. A mostly harmless blue-green orb silently floating in space. Billions of years old, and home to billions of indigenous, sentient life forms. All alone in the night.

It is alone no longer. The Transformers have arrived, and everything has changed...

* * *

"Is something bothering you, Hot Shot?"

"Actually, yes," Hot Shot admitted to his commander. "I don't think I'm ready for this. Leading Team Two, I mean."

Optimus Prime looked closely at his subordinate. Underneath his faceplate, he smiled. "Believe it or not, Hot Shot, I said the same thing a long time ago, at the beginning of the War of Independence. I asked myself why I was chosen as leader, why I was the one in that position. Every leader has through all of history; being unafraid to doubt oneself is an admirable trait, and one that every leader needs. Another part of it is knowing who it is that you're working with. Crosswise is hardly a team player, he and I both know that. And while Blurr's excellent at following orders, he has a hard time giving them, or coming up with his own plans. You don't have those flaws."

"And that's why I'm leading the team?" Hot Shot asked.

"You're the best one I have for the job right now," Optimus admitted. "Scavenger and Landmine are needed at the base site, and I'm hoping that with Jetfire on the field leading Team Three, Megatron will pay more attention to him."

"That makes me feel a little better," Hot Shot replied. "I guess. Any advice?"

"Just make sure your team comes back alive," Optimus ordered. "Also, there's one other thing I need to discuss with you."

* * *

Starscream was not happy.

Saying such a thing was hardly a profound statement; Starscream hadn't been happy for the longest time. He currently had his attention divided between keeping Megatron in the dark concerning his plans and making certain his forces were at the ready for when Megatron could be taken out. But what he was looking at right now was making him quite unhappy.

"Screamer?" Swindle asked, looking at his partner. "Joint too tight in your spinal column or what?"

"No," Starscream replied. "Take a look at this readout; the last Energon raid we completed was less than an Earth week ago. We should still be brimming with Energon, even with the energy needed to keep the ship running. But we're down. Quite a bit."

"And?" Swindle asked. "Maybe the ship needs some serious maintenance."

"Possibly," Starscream replied. "But even if that was the case, then we wouldn't be expending nearly as much fuel. This makes me think that someone's skimming off the top a bit."

Starscream cast a glance towards his partner, who quickly replied, "Hey, don't look at me; who'd I sell it to?"

"Believe me, you were crossed off the list fairly early," Starscream explained. "Still, I need to get to the bottom of this, before it becomes a serious problem. Or worse, before Megatron finds out."

* * *

"This is it, gentlemen," Colonel Franklin said to the gathered Autobots. "We're in a small area of Rocky Mountain State Park; this specific region isn't traversed by tourists too often, but on the safe side, I've asked that the park be closed until construction is complete."

"Thank you, Colonel," Scavenger said. "That'll be more than helpful. The more people out of the area, the less chance of someone getting hurt, or our secret breaking out."

"It's my pleasure," Franklin replied. "Now then, where do we begin?"

Scavenger turned to Ironhide, who began projecting a small holographic schematic from a device in his hand. "To start with, we're going to need to dig the central access tunnel. Once that's done and supports are up, we can begin excavation on the base's interior." The hologram shifted to show a basic cylindrical design, with disk-like areas top and bottom, a ring towards the bottom connected to the base by four long hallways, a thick protrusion in the middle, and a second ring near the top. "Towards the top will be the communications array and the command center. Further down will be the central entrance and exit points, the power core, medical facilities, staff quarters, and data processing. We're going to need a minimum of four exits for rapid deployment; three for fliers, one for ground-based units. I've also included a few living areas for humans and Mini-Cons in the bottom ring."

"Not a bad design," Landmine observed. "My only question is where we're going to get the materials for all this. The _Ark_ has enough spare parts for the reactor and the computer equipment, but we're still going to need support systems and such."

"Leave that to me when you need it," Franklin promised.

"That should settle things then," Hoist noted with a grin. "Let's get this little project started."

"Alright then," Scavenger said decisively. "Ironhide, this is your design. Pick where you think we should start digging."

As Ironhide began adjusting the hologram so that it was superimposed into the mountain range, Dune Runner spoke up and pointed, "Right there looks good."

Checking the schematic, Ironhide admitted, "Yes, that's perfect, thanks."

"You heard him, 'Bots," Hoist said with a chuckle. "Let's get started."

* * *

"We've just gotten word from Ironhide, Optimus," Sideswipe reported via comm.-line. "Construction is underway."

"Excellent," Optimus noted. He turned to the gathered Autobot teams outside the _Ark_ and said, "Vector Prime, if you'll do the honors."

"Gladly," Vector Prime said at last, withdrawing his sword as a green glow formed at its tip. He brought it down gently, creating a small tear in space and time.

"Well bots, we're on the clock," Jetfire said as he readied his gun.

Beachcomber gave a chuckle. "Sounds like fun."

Jetfire, Beachcomber, Overhaul and the Air Defense Team stepped through the gate, leaving it to close behind them. Vector Prime then opened another gate, allowing Hot Shot, Blurr, and Crosswise to step through to their destination. As the gate closed, Optimus kept an optic upon it, hopeful that he was doing the right thing.

"You must give them the opportunity to handle things on their own, Optimus," Vector Prime reminded him. "Trust Hot Shot."

"I do trust him," Optimus stated. "I just don't trust fate to give him an easy time of it. I vaguely recall that first mission I performed as commander; it didn't go so smoothly."

"Your troops came back alive," Vector Prime noted. "I call that a victory."

Optimus nodded, and glanced one more time at where the warp gate had been before entering the _Ark_.

* * *

Sideswipe silently got to work within the _Ark_'s control center, going about his duties but keeping an optic on the proceedings outside.

"You want to be with one of them, don't you?" Red Alert asked.

"Me? No," Sideswipe replied. "I like being bored out of my wits, it's fun."

Red Alert began walking out of the control center, saying only, "There's an old Earth expression, Sideswipe; be careful what you wish for, or you may just get it."

Sideswipe gave his superior a glance as Red Alert exited, the door hissing shut behind him. "I almost hope that's wrong," he said.

* * *

"Starscream, excellent," Megatron noted. "Something has come up."

"That being?" Starscream asked as he entered the _Nemesis_'s command center.

"The Autobots appear to have sent teams to three locations, most likely searching for Mini-Con pods," Megatron noted, indicating a monitor. "Don't you find that interesting?"

"Not entirely," Starscream replied. "They most likely hope to retrieve the Mini-Cons in those areas before we do. Splitting up would be the best way to do that."

"Yes, it would," Megatron admitted. "Summon the others; we're going after them."

"All of us?" Starscream asked. "I think we'd be better off keeping a small unit here, in case something unforeseen occurs."

"Suggestion noted," Megatron said. "And ignored. We're all going. Assemble the Decepticons."

"Understood," Starscream noted. He took a quick glance at the screen, then exited.

* * *

"Gentlebots, welcome to the Arizona desert," Jetfire noted as he flew high over the area in vehicle mode. "Nothing but yellow-brown earth as far as the optic can see, but keep 'em open. That Mini-Con pod should be down in here somewhere."

"No need to tell me twice, boss," Overhaul noted as he trundled along on the ground, Beachcomber following behind. "I've got a reading. Beachcomber, can you confirm it?"

"Yep, we're three clicks east from it," Beachcomber reported. "Heading that way now."

"We're on our way in," Runway reported from above. "Looks like things are going smoothly for once."

"Don't count your diodes before they process," Jetfire warned the Mini-Con. "We're not through yet."

* * *

"Here we are," Hot Shot said. "Detroit, Michigan. We'd better get moving; according to the coordinates, the pod should be somewhere on the outskirts of town." He turned to his fellow Autobots and said, "Crosswise, take point; you should be able to get to it a lot faster than we can. We'll follow from a distance. Once you get there, radio in."

"Understood," Crosswise said with a nod. "Not a bad opening move; Optimus obviously taught you a thing or two." With those words, he transformed to vehicle mode, revved up his engine, and moved out.

"Why not go all together?" Blurr asked. "Leaving him alone like that could expose him."

"He has a lot more experience than we do," Hot Shot noted. "He'll be fine. Besides, I need to talk with you for a minute, alone."

Blurr's optics narrowed as he asked, "What about?"

Hot Shot took a second to collect his thoughts, then said, "Blurr, everyone's starting to get...worried. About you. Optimus has noticed something, heck, I've noticed something. And you know how dense I am."

"There isn't a problem," Blurr quickly insisted.

"I think there is," Hot Shot replied. "Blurr, something's up. Now you and I have been friends as long as I can remember; we went through training together, were selected for Scavenger's tutelage together. We've fought side by side for almost two months now. Something's bothering you, and if you can't tell me about it, then who are you going to tell?"

Blurr looked at him hard, then turned away. "It's nothing."

Hot Shot looked at him, then said, "Alright. When you want to talk about it, I'm ready to listen."

Hot Shot transformed to vehicle mode and sped off, leaving Blurr to his thoughts for a few minutes before he transformed and sped after him.

* * *

"What are they doing?" Wheeljack asked.

The ebon-colored Autobot-turned-Decepticon stood with his two comrades, Mudflap and Skywarp, as they stood watching the Autobots as they began construction on their new base facility.

"Offhand," Skywarp noted as a small visor retracted away from his optics, "I'd say they're building something. Most likely a base."

"Considering the work they're doing, this most likely isn't a temporary measure," Mudflap added. "Well, we know why they're here. Now the question is; what do we tell Megatron?"

"Who says we need to tell him anything?" Thunderclash asked from the ground, walking forward. "If he thinks they're gone, then we won't have a problem, now will we?"

"For once, Thunderclash, I'm glad you think that way," Skywarp noted. "We'll be right back; just have to make a bunch of Autobots 'disappear'." He transformed and flew off, Thunderclash following suit.

"What do you suppose he's got up his sleeves?" Wheeljack asked.

"Whatever it is, I hope that it saves us some trouble," Mudflap replied.

* * *

Light silently poured into the small stasis unit as its hatch opened, allowing the Air Defense Team to enter.

"That opened way too easy for a unit that's supposed to have been closed and buried for millennia," Jetstorm noted, twin searchlights beaming out from his chest.

"This isn't exactly deep in the mine," Sonar replied. "Chances are good that the unit's computer got the signal, did automatic activation like ours."

"Then explain why this pod hasn't been opened," Runway pointed out. "Optics open, Mini-Cons; something's not processing." As Sonar and Jetstorm inspected the damage, he radioed in, "Jetfire, we've got good news and bad news."

"Good news is that the unit's intact, and three of the internal pods are undamaged," Sonar reported.

"Bad news is that the last three have been opened, and that the pod's internal computers got torn up but good," Jetstorm finished. "We can still get the rest of the pods opened, but it'll take some time."

"Wonderful," Jetfire replied. "Any idea who did it?"

"Not sure, but they were big, mean, and pretty slagging strong," Jetstorm noted, his optics sweeping over the crushed and shattered computer console. "That doesn't leave many Mini-Cons, unfortunately."

"We can start eliminating suspects back at the base," Jetfire replied. "For now, get the remaining three out of those pods and make sure they're secured."

"Roger that," Runway replied before the line ended.

* * *

"So, should we start looking for tracks?" Beachcomber asked.

"This is a high-traffic area," Jetfire replied. "Chances are good that whatever tracks were left have been wiped out, either by us or by people just passing through."

"What about flight modes?" Overhaul suggested.

"There'd still be footprints," a voice said from overhead.

As the three Autobots watched, Starscream silently flew in from above, transformed, and softly landed before them. "Jetfire. It's good to see you. Unexpected, but good nonetheless."

"Same to you, Screamer," Jetfire replied. "Not going to ask why I'm here?"

"Prime told me he'd be bringing in reinforcements," Starscream replied. "Made all the sense in the world, really."

Overhaul eyed the Decepticon uneasily, leading Beachcomber to gently say, "Easy there, partner. He's on our side."

"Speaking of, I doubt you came alone," Jetfire noted.

"Demolishor's keeping Thrust out of the way," Starscream explained. "Peacefully, of course. When Megatron noticed your teams on the sensors, he sent us out to try and thwart your plans. Needless to say, it won't be a resounding success; each team has at least one 'Con with me on it, and one has three. Unfortunately, I don't know where that one ended up; mine was the first to go out."

"Great," Overhaul grunted. "We're safe while one of the other teams is in danger."

"I'll radio Prime, make sure he knows," Jetfire assured him. "As soon as we're done here, we'll head back to base then head out to join whatever team needs us. Won't take long."

"Speaking of, what is the situation here?" Starscream asked. "I heard something about a smashed console, but not much else."

"Three pods are still sealed in the stasis unit," Jetfire explained. "The last three have been opened, and the computer console was smashed in the bargain. Any idea what caused it."

Starscream's optics narrowed. "I have one."

* * *

"Where are they?"

Nightbeat looked over the opened pods carefully, giving an exasperated groan. "If I knew, I'd tell you. Unfortunately, I don't."

"We're just lucky the backup activated like it was supposed to," Comettor noted as he looked over the pod's readout. "Otherwise we'd still be in stasis."

Roadhandler shook his head. "I don't like this one bit. This pod had six in it when we went into stasis; the rest should be here."

"Makes you wonder who we ended up sharing the pod with, doesn't it?" Nightbeat asked.

Before Roadhandler could reply, their comm.-lines suddenly went active. "Calling all Mini-Cons, do you read me? Calling all Mini-Cons!"

"Jolt, this is Roadhandler, we have your signal," Roadhandler replied. "Nightbeat and Comettor are with me. What's your position?"

"About a click away from you due east," Jolt replied. "What about the other Mini-Cons? Where are they?"

"No clue," Roadhandler replied. "Are you alone?"

"Incinerator and three Autobots are with me," Jolt answered. "Heading for your position now; don't move unless you have to."

"Understood," Roadhandler replied before the line cut off. "The Autobots."

"That's the best thing about them," Nightbeat said with admiration. "They never abandon their own."

* * *

"I've made contact with three Mini-Cons from the pod," Jolt reported via radio. "They're near an old museum less than a click away."

"Got it," Hot Shot replied. "Thanks, Jolt. Crosswise, you're closest; head for that position. We'll meet you there."

"Understood," Crosswise radioed in before the line closed.

"So far so good," Hot Shot said happily. "Here's hoping our luck holds out..."

A blast of cannon fire tearing apart the road in front of him and Blurr quickly ended that hope. As the two Autobots skidded to a halt and transformed to robot mode, a familiar voice bellowed, "I'm afraid your luck just ran out, Autobots."

Megatron trundled forward in his tank mode a bit before transforming to robot mode, Cyclonus doing the same and landing at his side. "Thundercracker, deal with the other one and make sure those Mini-Cons are captured. We'll deal with his friends."

"Who's up for some laughs?" Cyclonus asked maniacally as he readied his weapons.

Hot Shot quickly glanced towards Blurr and asked, "You ready?"

Blurr readied his guns as Incinerator Powerlinked to one of the ports on his back. "This, I can handle."

"All right then," Hot Shot said decisively, pulling out his gun and opening fire. Blurr followed suit, and the two unleashed their arsenals against Megatron and Cyclonus.

Megatron stood his ground and took the attack, taking damage but otherwise not receiving serious injury. Cyclonus received some glancing blows, but took flight soon afterwards to avoid them.

"You've gotten better," Megatron admitted with a smug grin. "But not by much, and not nearly enough." With those words, his cannon unit flipped into position in front of him as Leader-1 linked up. He then opened fire, forcing Hot Shot and Blurr to take cover.

"They never said this was easy!" Hot Shot called out, opening up another salvo against the Decepticon leader.

* * *

Building a facility within a mountain is easy enough; you clear out the space you need for your primary entrances and exits, building supports as you go, then start on the central area. Digging out the rocks and making sure supports were up and stable was the hard part; after that, building your facility was easy.

So far, excavation was proceeding smoothly; Hoist was digging within the entry tunnel, slowly widening and lengthening it over time, with Refute assisting and Dune Runner keeping the tunnel walls as even as possible. Meanwhile, Scavenger, as well as Ransack, Iceberg and Rollbar, were hauling away debris for analysis; any iron ore recovered could be converted into steel for the construction of support units and walls within the base itself. Ironhide and Landmine were overseeing construction for the time being, though once supports were needed, Landmine would enter the tunnel and erect them. Colonel Franklin, meanwhile, had left for a nearby Army base to see about building materials for when they were needed.

"Remember, every fifty yards we put in a support unit!" Ironhide called out. "At six hundred yards we start with digging out the primary structure!"

"We remember, Ironhide," Hoist called back from within the entry tunnel, now about twenty yards deep. "Don't worry; we've got this in the bag."

"You 'bots certain about that?" a voice asked. Ironhide and Landmine looked in surprise as Skywarp flew towards them, transformed and landed. "The way I'm seeing things, you guys obviously have the right idea, but you didn't quite think everything through." He held up his arms and said, "Relax; I come in peace. And I hope to leave in one piece."

Scavenger emerged from the tunnel at that point and said, "Didn't expect you to show up, Skywarp."

"You should've," Skywarp replied. "We picked you guys up from the _Nemesis_. Luckily, the team Megatron sent to investigate was filled with 'Cons on Starscream's side, so no one's going to attack."

"Great," Ironhide groaned. "I knew I was forgetting something."

"Don't get your gears in a bind over it, kid," Skywarp assured him. "It was pure chance that we picked you up to begin with. Unfortunately, anyone who knows anything about statistics will tell you that if something happens, chances are good that it'll happen again."

"Which means we need something to keep us off the 'Con sensors," Landmine noted.

"Namely, something like this," Skywarp noted as he produced a small device from storage in subspace. "Stealth field generator. You'll still be visible to the naked eye and most optic sensors, but it'll shield you from the more sophisticated forms of sensor technology for about a kil at a fraction of the power needed for a cloaking device. You'll need power for it, but the way I hear, you Autobots have a slightly larger Energon reserve than we do."

As Skywarp handed the device to Ironhide, the young Autobot said, "Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet," Skywarp replied. "This is a loan, nothing more. Once this base is up and running I expect it back. I don't have too many of those things, and they're kinda hard to come by if you're considered a renegade. So take care of it; got me?"

"Got it," Ironhide said with a nod, holding the device firmly in his hands.

"Good," Skywarp replied. He turned to Scavenger and said, "Watch your aft, old man," before transforming and flying off.

As Skywarp got out of sight, Ironhide asked, "So...anyone have a spare fuel cell?"

* * *

Optics came online as a familiar voice asked, "You think he's online?"

"Should be," another one asked.

As his vision cleared, he asked, "Runway? Jetstorm? What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story, Tankor," Runway told the Mini-Con as he exited the pod. "We'll sum up; the 'Bots and 'Cons arrived some weeks ago after one of the pods was found. The 'Bots found us a little while ago, and now we're helping them to get everyone else to safety before the 'Cons show up."

"Had a feeling Prime wouldn't abandon us," Tankor noted. "What about my team?"

"Sonar's getting them out now," Jetstorm explained. "Problem is, three of these guys are open. Who'd you bunk with?"

"We aren't sure," Tankor replied. He noticed the nearby wrecked console and said, "But apparently someone didn't want us up and awake."

"'Apparently' doesn't even begin to cover it," Runway noted. He opened a comm.-line and reported, "Jetfire, good news; the team left on the pod is the Sky Defense Team. I've got Tankor with me now; Thunderblast and Steamhammer should be out of their pods shortly."

"That is good news," Jetfire replied. "Get them out as fast as you can; we've got word that Hot Shot's team might be in danger. I feel safer getting our job done before we head off to help them with theirs."

"Roger that," Runway replied before the line ended. "You gonna be okay?"

"I'll feel a lot better once my team's out and about," Tankor told him. He walked towards one unopened pod as Sonar continued working on its mate. "Give me a cycle; we'll be out of here before you know it."

* * *

"Two pathetic little Autobots, all alone," Megatron noted as he continued firing. "And no shield to protect them this time. It's almost too easy."

As Megatron fired off a missile, Hot Shot fired off one round just right, causing the missile to detonate just as it launched, exploding in Megatron's face and wrecking part of his weapons array.

"You were saying?" Hot Shot replied.

Megatron growled.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cyclonus was still airborne, his sensors sweeping the area. "Come out, come out, little Autobot! I've got a surprise for you!"

Fire dotted his armor as Blurr blasted towards him in his flight mode. The gray Autobot transformed to robot mode and grabbed hold of the Decepticon's rotor and tail, effectively halting his flight. He climbed atop and jumped seconds before Cyclonus hit the ground, landing softly a small ways away.

"Surprise," he noted.

* * *

Megatron, meanwhile, had grabbed hold of Hot Shot with his left hand and was holding him aloft, Leader-1 linked to his right arm and trained on the much smaller Autobot. "Wheeljack should have finished you off. Now it seems I get to finish the job, yes."

Fire peppered his body once again, and Megatron turned to find Blurr blasting him with his guns, aiming for any exposed or damaged areas. Irritated, the massive Decepticon simply took hold of the smaller Autobot, and said, "Very underhanded, but not that impressive. You didn't finish the job; no Autobot could."

The sound of a gun charging caught his attention as a voice asked, "Care to change that statement?"

Before Megatron could even glance at the newcomer, high-level gun blasts hit him square in the back, tearing at exposed internals and already-weakened armor. Growling at the attack, he barely turned around before two short, swift impacts hit him hard in the exposed areas, and massive electric currents tore through his systems. He dropped both Hot Shot and Blurr, then collapsed to the ground in a heap, reduced to stasis lock.

Retracting his grapple lines, Crosswise asked, "I miss anything?"

"Your timing was perfect," Hot Shot assured him. "You find the pod?"

"See for yourself," Crosswise reported as Thundercracker flew in from above, the three Mini-Cons from the pod disconnecting as he landed and transformed. As Jolt arrived and joined them, he added, "They just needed a lift, is all."

As his two associates collected their bearings, Roadhandler looked up towards Hot Shot and said. "Hot Shot? I'm Roadhandler. We've been briefed on the situation by Jolt. Thanks for coming after us."

"No problem," Hot Shot replied. "Are you three the only ones?"

"Looks that way," Roadhandler replied. "The remaining pods were empty when we woke up; whoever was in them must've left somehow."

"More good news," Hot Shot groaned. He turned to Thundercracker and said, "Thanks."

"Just paying back an old favor," Thundercracker assured him, giving a curt nod to Crosswise before keying in a signal to the _Nemesis_. "Megatron and Cyclonus should be laid up for the next few days. That'll give you more than enough time to make sure a few pods have been dealt with. Good luck."

"Thanks," Hot Shot replied as the Decepticon and his unconscious allies were transported away. With Thundercracker's departure, he activated a comm.-line and said, "_Ark_, this is Team Two; mission successful, requesting recall."

"Understood, Team Two," Sideswipe replied from the other end. "Beamout in two cycles."

"So, you okay?" Hot Shot asked Blurr.

"Better, thanks," Blurr replied. "We made it."

"That we did," Hot Shot said with a smile as the three Autobots and five Mini-Cons disappeared from the area at last.

* * *

"Here again," Skywarp noted while he surveyed the unconscious forms of Megatron and Cyclonus within their CR chambers. "We're lucky things are working in our favor so far."

"Yes...lucky..." Starscream noted. With a curious glance from Skywarp, he added, "The two pods that the Autobots were working on were missing half their respective compliments of Mini-Cons. One had a smashed console."

"Any suspicions?" Skywarp asked.

"A few, here and there," Starscream noted. "But I can't prove anything yet. Still, all this worries me."

"Y'know, we could get rid of him here and now," Skywarp suggested. "No offense, Screamer, but you could probably rig the chamber so that it malfunctions, make it look like an accident."

"I could," Starscream admitted, "but right now, I shouldn't. Until Megatron has lost his support among our people and we can afford to have him gone, he has to remain. Hopefully him being here rather than on Cybertron will aid that." He looked towards Skywarp and said, "Nice of you to loan the Autobots one of your stealth devices."

"They needed it more than I did," Skywarp replied. "And considering the fact that they aren't on our scopes anymore, either they decided to build elsewhere or they got the field powered. Either way, good for them."

"Just hope that our luck holds out," Starscream noted as the two Seekers exited the medical chamber.

* * *

"And that's the situation as it stands," Optimus Prime finished as the holoprojector shut down.

"All this destruction, all this chaos, because of us," Tankor noted solemnly. He turned to Optimus and declared, "My team will help however it can, Optimus. You have my word."

The other Mini-Cons gave notes of agreement, leading Optimus to nod and say, "Thank you, my friends. Any help you can give, we'll appreciate. For now, however, you'd best recharge. Our fight is far from over."

The Mini-Cons exited the briefing room, chattering amongst themselves, as Optimus looked towards Jetfire and Hot Shot and said, "Ironhide reports that base construction is going smoothly. They had a brief visit from Skywarp, but little beyond that."

"Sounds like they lucked out," Hot Shot noted. "Lucky for all of us; I don't think we need to go through the hassle of selecting another base site."

"Yeah, but something still bugs me about all this," Jetfire said. "I mean, why were the pods only half-full? Who else was in them? And who let them out?"

"Did Starscream have any ideas?" Optimus asked.

"It sounded like it, but he wasn't too open about the details," Jetfire replied. "Maybe he'll find something at his end."

"One can hope," Optimus told him. "You'd best get a recharge yourself." Jetfire nodded and exited, leaving Optimus to turn his full attention to Hot Shot and asked, "So, how'd it go?"

Hot Shot sighed. "I don't know. I talked to him, and Blurr seemed okay during the fight with Megatron and Cyclonus, but I don't think the problem's solved."

Optimus smiled beneath his mouthplate, and said, "They have a saying here on Earth, Hot Shot; 'Rome wasn't built in a day'. Give it time, and do what you can. Dismissed."

Hot Shot stood at attention briefly, then exited. Optimus, meanwhile, looked towards the holoprojector again and reactivated it, looking through the information on the day's missions. "That's all any of us can do."

The End


End file.
